Tobacco-drying apparatus



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. W. & O. M. KNOTT. TOBACCO DRYING APPARATUS.

Patented Feb. 6, 1894.

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2 SheetsSheet 2.

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W. W. 8: O. M. KNOTT. TOBAGGO DRYING APPARATUS. No. 514,370. Patented Feb. 6, 1894.

llll lllllc- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM WV. KNOTT AND CRAWFORD M. KNOTT, OF OXFORD, NORTH CAROLINA.

TOBACCO-DRYING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 514,370, dated February 6, 1894.

Application filed October 1'7 1893. Serial 130.488.403. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, WILLIAM W. Know and CRAWFORD M. KNOTT, citizens of the United States, residing at Oxford, in the county of Granville and State of North Carolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Drying Apparatus and Heating Arrangements; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Gur invention relates to improvements in tobacco drying apparatus and its object is to provide a barn or building with improved hotair flues for heating the same equally throughout, the air supplied being kept at an equal pressure and temperature at all parts of said fines, thus securing an equal distribution of air of the same temperature, at all parts of the building.

In the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 represents a top plan view of the devices embodying our invention, inclosed within a barn which is shown in section. Fig. 2 represents a central vertical section of the sameon the line of one of the furnaces. Fig. 3 represents a front elevation of said devices, partly broken away, one of the furnaces being in section. Fig. 4

I represents a horizontal section of the rear portion of said devices. Fig. 5 represents a transverse vertical section on theiline xm of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 represents a detail vertical section on the iine y-y of Fig. 4. Fig. 7 represents a detail vertical section on the line z-z of Fig. 4, and Fig. 8 represents a detail vertical section on the line z-a of Fig. 3.

In the accompanying drawings A and A represent the furnaces constructed to heat the air before it is supplied'to the hot-air fiues, but not to mingle, the smoke and the products of combustion, in any way, with said heated air. These furnaces are placed in a furnace pit B, but not wholly within the barn 0, so that it will not be necessary to enter the barn during the process of drying, to replenish the fuel, but it can be conveniently done from the furnace pit outside. The location of the furnaces, with a portion outside of the barn, is also desirable for the reason, that, if located entirely Within the barn, the temperature near them will be much greater than at other points in the barn and the consequence would be that the tobacco in their proximity, would be dried much quicker than at other points and would require removal before the remainder of the tobacco was fully dried.

Each furnace has a combustion chamber a, a, and an ash pit a, said ash pit communicating with air-chambers I), Z), on each side, by the apertures 19, 1). Suitable doors are applied to combustion chambers, ash pits and the airchambers,if desired. Flues D carrythe smoke and the products of combustion through the barn and out at the back, serving in their passage to heat the barn by radiation and the air-fines by actual contact, as said air-fines lie immediately against, but are distinct from said smoke flues. Said flues D are placed upon the floor of the barn and extend back to the rear and then toward the middle where they unite as one and extend toward the front of the barn again and there discharge into a rearwardly extending smoke pipe I) that passes out at the rear of the barn. This, of course, is the arrangement shown in the drawings, but any suitable equivalent arrange ment of the fines to the right or left or diagonally across the barn would accomplish the same object. The air-chambers b, b derive their supply of air from their front openings or through the ash pit by way of apertures b", b, said air then being thoroughly heated by contact with the walls of the furnace and by radiation of heat from the same. The heated air from the chambers 11, b, escapes into the hot air flues c, c, which pass along beside the smoke pipes D D to the rear of the barn and then rise as at c, 0, so as to make a turn and extend along the tops of the smoke fines toward the front of the barn, being perforated along their tops as at e by having a portion of the metal stamped inward to allow the escape of the heated air into the barn to assist 5 in drying the tobacco. The hot-air-flues 0,0, are thus heated twice, once in their passage toward the rear of the barn, along the sides of the smoke flue, and again in their passage forward along the top'of the same, said pipes heating the barn first, by radiation, and then by discharging the heated air directly into the barn. The heated air from the chambers 12, 1), passes into flues d, d, which extend like flues c, c, to the rear of the barn but on the opposite sides of the smoke flues, and then rise as at d, ct, and pass along the top of the smoke flue toward the middle of the barn,

' where they unite as one flue and pass toward the front of the barn, but still upon the smoke flue. Apertures d are provided in the top of the portion passing along the back of the barn, but after the flues unite and pass forward, the apertures 01 are made in the sides of the united flue. Dampers e, e, are provided to regulate the supply of heated air from the air chambers b, b, to the flues c, (l. The end of the united flues dis also provided with a damper d which operates to turn the heated airinto the smoke pipe D, if desirable. By the arrangement of the hot air flues on each side and thetop of the smoke flue, the full benefit of the heat in said smoke flue, is obtained, without in any way commingling the products of combustion with the pure air to be supplied to the barn, and the air issuing from the apertures in the hot air flues is of the same temperature at all points and further has an equal pressure because of the arrangement of the flues in several circuits, each supplyingheated air independently of the other, and each deriving its supply of air from an independent source, thus overcoming the objection, incident to asingle hot air circuit, that the portion of the barn nearest the source of supply of heated air will get more than its due share of said air, while the end of the circuit line will discharge very little if any air at all. This we overcome by our co.n struction as described, and equalize the sup ply at all points. We also adequately equalize the temperature of the discharge of heated air at all points by our arrangement of the smoke and air flues. The tobacco is hung upon suitable racks in the barn during the process of drying and the exact amount of heat required, is obtained, by regulating the dampers in the flues. No heat is wasted,- the heat from around the furnace, is used to heat the chambers 12, b, the heat of the smoke and the products of combustion are thoroughly utilized by passing them through the drying barn or building and arranging the air flues to be kept at a uniform temperature by being in contact with the same.

What We claim as our invention is- 1. In a tobacco drying apparatus, a furnace provided with a smoke flue and with air chambers arranged to be heated by said furnace, independent air flues communicating respectively with said air chambers and arranged along the sides of a portion of the smoke flue, one of the air flues being returned upon said portion of the smoke flue and the other air flue continuing in contact the entire length of said smoke flue, substantially as described.

2. In tobacco drying apparatus, furnaces provided with smoke flues and with air chambers arranged on each side of said furnaces, and independent hot air flues connected respectively to said air chambers and discharging heated air independently of each other, and arranged along the sides of a portion of the smoke flues, one of the hot air flues from each furnace being returned upon said portion of a smoke flue, and the other hot air flue from each furnace uniting in one air flue at a suitable point and continuing in contact with one common smoke flue its entire length, substantially as described.

3. In tobacco drying apparatus, a furnace provided with independent air heating chambers, a smoke fine and independent hot air flues provided with dampers and arranged along a portion of the smoke flue, one of said air flues being returned upon a portion of the smoke due and the other air flue continuing in contact the entire length of the smoke flue and a damper in each hot air flue, whereby the flues can be operated independently of each other, substantially as described.

4. In tobacco drying apparatus the combination of a plurality of furnaces, each furnace provided with a smoke flue which unites with the other at a proper point to form one common smoke flue, independent air chambers,

independent hot air flues communicating with said hot air chambers and provided with dampers, and extended along a portion of the smoke flue, one of the hot air lines of each furnace returned upon the smoke flue and the other hot air flue of each furnace uniting in one air flue at a proper point and continuing in contact with the common smoke flue, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we hereunto affix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

WM. IV. KNOTT. CRAWFORD M. KNOTT.

Witnesses:

F. P. HOBGOOD, J r., D. O. HUNT. 

